


amber & burning coal.

by renathedragon



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Romance, Slow Build, Slow Burn, also kind of not one shots, and I'm not sorry for it, fey is a dumbass & a mess, hi i love sebastian, in order i think, mostly a series of one shots, this relationship is a mess, we'll see how it goes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-18
Updated: 2017-08-24
Packaged: 2018-12-16 17:23:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11833470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/renathedragon/pseuds/renathedragon
Summary: she was honestly nothing to Sebastian at first.but, things change, feelings change, and so do people.multichaptered, this could go for a while.





	1. who are you?

**Author's Note:**

> This is seriously gonna be slow burn  
> Don't look @ me
> 
> also I'm still awful at writing I'm so sorry

Sebastian was probably the only person that honest to Yoba did not care about the new farmer. He hadn't even seen her yet and he’d heard already so much about her that he could probably write a mini-biography. Not that he would, of course. 

It was inevitable in this crazy small town, he figured. Everyone knew everyone, and it was impossible to not spread news like this. Sam and Abigail had even started talking about her all the time, which quite frankly was really annoying. Sam kept talking about how funny she was, and brave for throwing away her city life to move here. Abi talked about how friendly she had been, and how cool she was for deciding to cut off her hair. 

Sebastian couldn't care less, although the fact that she had thrown away the very life he wanted was pretty irritating. 

All the talk about her had only led him to recluse even more into the basement and bury himself in as many projects as possible to block it out. His mom had predicted she wouldn't stay too long anyway, with her (directly quoted from his mother) "twiggy, like a baby tree, body." Maybe if he stayed down there long enough he wouldn't have to meet her.

Of course, with Sebastian’s luck, that wasn't what happened. 

It was a cool spring night, and he had headed out for a smoke in his little grassy area just beside the river. The water was calm and serene, and the chipper of crickets could be heard loud and clear. It was quiet in the way that there was no one around, just how he liked it. 

That was, until _she_ stumbled into the clearing. 

“Oh!” he heard from behind him, and some swearing under their breath. He ran down a list of the possible people it could be, and with a tinge of irritation, he realized the only person it could be was the damn farmer. He wasn’t sure if he felt amused or annoyed that she’d interrupted his peace like this, but left her to herself regardless. Maybe she’d just leave him alone. 

Unfortunately not. 

A voice sounded through the clearing. “Um… Sebastian, right?” 

He sighed quietly and dropped his cigarette, stamping it out underneath his heel, sticking his hands into the pockets of his hoodie.

“...Yeah, that’s me.” He turned to get a better look at her. 

She had a sharp undercut on both sides of her head, with the top of her hair growing into a wavy mess of brown The way it curled reminded him somehow of a bird’s feathers. She wore dark gray overalls over a light gray t-shirt, both stained with mud, and on her feet strange bright green rubber boots that reminded him strangely of the colour of slimes he'd seen in video games. 

What caught him, though, were her eyes. A bright amber colour against her tanned skin, they reflected the moonlight incredibly, different shades of tan and gold reflecting in his own eyes. 

Slender and only a head or two shorter than him, her hands were filled with an abundance of things, including dandelions, daffodils and what he could recognize as leeks.

She stared at him for a few moments, almost as if she was looking him up and down. Usually, that kind of gaze would be uncomfortable for Sebastian, since it almost always firmly felt like the person was judging him based on his attire, hair and overall gloomy look. (Or at least, that’s what Demetrius called it from time to time.)

However, she seemed…. Curious? Weirdly enough, that was the kind of vibe he was getting. 

She seemed to catch herself staring and Sebastian could make out a flush in her cheeks. 

“Ack, sorry... I’ve been foraging and I guess I didn't see you.” She gave him an awkward smile, shifted her hand from her foraged items to nervously running it through her messy hair. “I’m Fey, by the way, the new farmer that moved in.” 

“Yeah, I figured.” He honestly didn't mean for his tone to be so cold, but hey, she was the one that had barged in on him. Although he supposed, to be fair, the land didn't really belong to either of them.

There was an awkward silence to follow, where she shuffled her feet and he lit another cigarette. 

“Well, uh, sorry for bothering you. I’ll see you around?”

“Yeah, sure.” 

_Yeah, no._ She was not going to see him around. He wasn't gonna be spending much time outside his room after this. This amount of socializing with someone new was going to render him to exhaustion for at least a little while.

His nonchalant answer ended the conversation well enough, and thankfully she turned and left, He turned back to face the water. Before he could catch himself, he took one quick glance back. 

She had dropped a few of her leeks and was scrambling to pick them up. She gave him a quick, flustered look before running up the mountain path, out of sight in the shade of the trees. 

Yoba, what a weird girl.


	2. "he can do what he wants"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fey goes over her thoughts about Sebastian.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have like 20+ chapters planned for this and I'm just gonna combust  
> short chapter is short but there's more coming dw

Fey couldn’t deny she was at least a little annoyed. Although, she supposed it was more annoyed at herself for losing her cool like that as her first impression. That hadn't happened even once to her yet since moving into this town, and although it had only been a few days, she was proud of herself for just that much. 

It had been the rough work of cleaning up the farm coupled with mixed interactions from all the valley’s villagers. From Shane giving her the cold shoulder to Haley insulting her overalls (which she loved for both their comfort and the fact that they were considerably classy for a new farmer), she had managed. Even when Alex told her girls couldn't play catch she had managed to stay calm. That being said, most of the villagers had been very kind to her, but more or less left her to herself. Robin had explained that they would probably be wary of a newcomer for a little while, but they’d definitely warm up a lot more with time. 

However, Sebastian’s reaction to her, for some reason, had surprised her. As she trudged down the mountain path, she realized it was probably because Sam had gotten her hopes up about him.

She had spent one evening at the Saloon just chatting with Sam and Abigail about the town. Sam had explained that usually Sebastian was there with them, but apparently had a lot of work to do on his job that night. She hadn’t asked for the details of his job, but as far as she knew no one worked at that time of the night. (Besides maybe the Jojo Mart employees, although she could barely count them as part of the community) They gave her a rough introduction to him anyways, about his mostly indifferent personality passed off as gloomy to most of the townspeople, but that he was still a good guy as long as you were willing to get to know him. 

Still, his foul reaction to her like that had thrown her off. The way that Sam had described him had painted a nicer picture of how he would treat her. Especially since the three were good friends, from what she could understand. Sam and Abi didn’t seem the types to hang out with someone that was deliberately rude.

She sighed as she entered the farmlands she was just beginning to familiarize herself with. (The first few days had been a mess and she had lost herself in her own farm about eight times) The area was now almost pitch black from the night, although there wasn't anything ominous about it. The crickets were chirping and the little light from the lantern she had set on her porch came into view, welcoming her after a long day. 

_You’re thinking too much about this._ She didn't have time to get all upset about some guy. Plus, she reasoned, she had probably just caught him on a bad day. She couldn't judge his entire personality on what someone else had told her and a single first impression. Or at least, she didn’t want to. 

As she walked inside and started organizing her findings for the day, her mind floated back to the image of him under the moonlight. He was tall, only falling a bit short to Sam, and wore all black. Dark lashes framed black irises that didn't hold the same warmth Robin’s did when they had first met. The glow of his cigarette was the only light besides the moon, and for a moment, it had looked almost ethereal to Fey. 

_Or maybe you got flustered because you found him attractive._ Fey dropped the horseradish she was holding on her toe. 

After an abundance of swear words her father would never approve of, she smacked herself in the face. _No, you did not him attractive._ Sure, he had looked nice and whatever under the moonlight, but she knew if she started to have feelings like this she’d get way too invested way too fast. 

_No, no, no._ She was going to try and befriend him at the most.

She finished organizing her foraged horseradishes, leeks, daffodils and dandelions, and began to prepare for bed. Exhausted, she belly-flopped onto the mattress on the floor. 

_Whatever. Sebastian can do whatever the heck he wants._ She had making a living to worry about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fey actually used to be a super big hot-headed person, but she's been trying to fix that lol  
> also she's an idiot but I love her and so does Seb


	3. try number 2.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They both need to give it another try.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> QUICK UPDATE with longer chapter because I felt like it ahahah  
> I'm gonna try updating every day or more for a little while since I want to finish up to fall year 1 before school starts ;;

It wasn’t until a week later that Sebastian ran into her again. 

Or, she ran into him. Again. 

It was a Friday night, and it felt like the first Friday night in ages he’d been able to hang out at the Saloon with Sam and Abi. He’d been busy for the past week with a huge contract that had taken way longer than it should have. But it worked out, and he was now on break time for a good few days, at least. 

It should’ve been a normal Friday night. Sam and him, playing pool while Abi watched, Abi calling out tips to Sam every once in awhile; they both knew Sam was hopelessly bad at this compared to Sebastian. 

It wasn’t until Abi spoke up about her that he froze up a little. 

“Hey Sam, do you know if Fey mentioned she was gonna be late? She said she’d be here by now.”

The _farmer_? Coming _here_? He furrowed his eyebrows, his mouth turning into a slight scowl. Friday nights with billiards was something that had become almost sacred to him and their little trio, and he felt bad enough for missing it one week. It was one of the normal, unchanging things that Sebastian could appreciate, and this new development was something deeply unwelcome. 

Sam shrugged in response, leaning on his cue with his hands. “She didn’t tell me anything. I haven’t really seen her around, either. Plus, aren’t you the only one that has her phone number?”

“Her _phone number_? How close did you guys get with her while I was gone?” Sebastian’s question came out as more of a demand than he intended, but there was a familiar feeling of irritation seeping into him. 

Was this damn farmer seriously going to affect everything in his life? 

Abi and Sam glanced at each other before looking at him. 

“You should give her a chance, Seb. If you get to know her-” Abi was cut off as a figure stepped into the room. 

“Ah, hey guys! Sorry, I know I said-” Fey stopped mid sentence when she saw Sebastian, and he watched as the sheepish smile on her face dropped. 

“Oh. Hi.” 

“Hi,” he replied dryly. 

There was an awkward silence to follow, similarly to the night they first met. 

“Um, uh, anyways,” trying to find words, she held out a plate of pizza. “I brought pizza from Gus, so-”

“Seriously?! That’s my favourite!” Sam dropped his cue and practically sprinted over to her.He took the pizza from her so she could drop her bag, and set it up on the table, grabbing a slice.

“Yeah, I know. It’s not like you haven’t mentioned it about fifty times in my presence, or anything,” she put her hand on her hip, rolling her eyes with a grin. “Sorry I’m late, by the way. I sort of got lost in the mines.”

Abi’s eyes glinted as she stood up from the couch. “The mines?! You went there all on your own?”

Fey grinned at her, probably more proud of the achievement than she should’ve been. “Yeah, I was mainly just mining for stone supplies but, I found some cool stuff!” Fey rummaged in her bag, producing a piece of milky crystal in her worn hands. “It looked like Quartz to me, and you mentioned you were into this kind of stuff so,” she handed it to Abi, “I brought it back for you.”

The look in Abi’s eyes couldn’t shine brighter and Sebastian felt very, very put out. Fey seemed to make this connection with his friends so easily, and the warm feeling of Friday nights suddenly didn’t feel so comforting. 

He was lost in that feeling she walked over to him. Unintentionally, he took a step back from her increasing proximity. _Yoba, damn it._

She held out another piece of Quartz in her open palm. “Abi also said you liked this kind of stuff too so… I managed to find another piece for you.” 

Her amber eyes and smile held warmth, and for a moment, just a moment, Sebastian lost himself a little. She seemed unenthusiastic by his presence before, although he supposed it was from his initial cold reaction to her when they first met. Usually that sort of reaction to someone would get them to leave you alone for a long time. 

But here she was, anyways, offering him a gift. Maybe, she was still trying to get to know him anyways. Maybe she was giving him another chance. 

And maybe, just maybe, he should give her another chance too.

There was another pause as he hesitantly picked up the quartz from her palm, careful not to make contact with her hand. He examined it, the milky white of the crystal gradating into clear. It was a nice piece of quartz, and if he was honest, he’d never seen a real piece of it straight from the mines before.

“....Thanks. I do like this stuff.” Before he knew it, he had smiled at her. 

There was a moment of silence where her mouth fell open just a little. 

“What?” his accusatory tone was back, and she turned away quickly, her cheeks flushing as she covered her mouth with her hand.

It took him a couple moments to realize she was trying not to laugh. 

“S-Sorry, I just- I’m not used to you smiling and then you went back to scowling so quickly I--” 

He felt his face flush and noticed that Abigail and Sam were also laughing. He glowered at all of them. 

“I actually hate you guys.”

“We love you too, Seb!” Sam called back, and descended into another fit of laughter. 

…

“Why did you even laugh so much, anyways?” Sebastian scowled as Sam and he stepped into the cool spring night from the Saloon. 

“Because the look on your face was actually hilarious. You shifted from scowling, to smiling, to scowling so fast was hilarious. And then you got all red, too!” 

“No, I did not!” Sebastian snapped back in denial, although he knew he was probably as red as a tomato.

They had spent the rest of the evening playing billiards and Journey of the Prairie King, and quickly found out that Fey was disgustingly awful at Prairie King but decent at billiards. 

He couldn’t call them friends yet, but he could admit she was a decent person, and that wouldn’t mind Friday night with her added a couple more times. Her addition to the town and how she had been able to meld in so easily (unlike him) still irked him but, he could manage it a bit better now. 

Turning in the direction of his house, he watched a squirrel ran back up into its tree. The cool air was refreshing to him and as he and Sam split ways, he felt he could appreciate it just a bit more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I seriously love flustered Sebastian and I wish there was more of it orz

**Author's Note:**

> :^) hopefully I don't drag this too long


End file.
